Tournament novice Hung Le wins WSOP Crazy Eights event

Hung Le traveled to the World Series of Poker with the intention of playing exclusively in cash games.

His friend Kenny Nguyen had a different idea.

“I like tournaments, and when he came out to the World Series, I thought that, ‘Hey, you should try a bracelet event and maybe you can get lucky and win a bracelet,’ ” Nguyen said.

Le took his friend’s advice, and the 54-year-old resident of Dayton, Ohio, won the $888 buy-in Crazy Eights No-limit Hold’em tournament Monday night at the Rio Convention Center.

Le, who had never previously entered a multi-table poker tournament, collected the $888,888 first prize and used a gutsy call on the final hand to defeat Michael Lech of Alma, Arkansas, in heads-up play.

“What happened for me today is very good about this game, is that anybody can beat anybody,” Le said. “Anybody can have a chance. Long term, the professional, the good players make more money. But anybody still has a chance, just like me. I have a chance, I take it, I got it. That’s what’s good about this game.”

The Crazy Eights event drew 6,761 entrants in its first year on the schedule, making it the fourth-largest tournament of this year’s WSOP.

Le, a small business owner and recreational poker player, played four sit-and-go tournaments at the Rio — he finished first once and split the top prize another time — and received coaching from Nguyen in preparation for the Crazy Eights.

Le was one of the top chip stacks at the start of the eight-handed final table and was able to ladder up the payouts despite not being involved in many hands.

Lech, who won a massive three-way pot to eliminate Rafael Yaraliyev in fourth place, also knocked out Bulgarian Dimitar Danchev in third and had a 3-to-1 chip advantage over Le heading into heads-up play.

But Le scored a fortunate double-up early in their match and won a key pot two hands later to take over the chip lead. From there, Le patiently waited out his ultra-aggressive opponent.

“If I follow the flop with him, I can’t beat him. He’s too good for me,” Le said. “I folded a lot of hands, make him frustrated, because I sucked out on him one hand. Now I make him frustrated. … And then there he goes, he start to bluff, and I call him.”

On the final hand, Le was facing an all-in bet after the turn and a board (A-10-4-8) that included a potential flush. Despite holding only pocket twos, Le called Lech’s bluff, and his pair held up.

Lech, a professional poker player, took home $401,888 for second place.

“The last hand, the only hand he has is a flush to raise me,” Le said. “But if he had the flush, he will reel me in. He’s not going to shove like that, so that’s why I called with pocket (twos). It may be wrong, I don’t know, but that’s my opinion.”

Le owns a nail salon in Dayton, where his wife and two of his children also work. He said the prize money will provide a huge lift to his family.

“I have five kids, under middle-class family, work hard,” Le said. “Now, life changes a little bit for us. Changes for the good.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ